Inflatable Pillow Assembly

ABSTRACT

An inflatable pillow assembly for adjusting firmness of a pillow includes a pillow for sleeping that is substantially hollow. A bladder is removably positioned within the pillow. The bladder is selectively inflated thereby facilitating the pillow to have a selected degree of firmness. A pump is fluidly coupled to the bladder and the pump is selectively manipulated. The pump selectively inflates and deflates the bladder.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR ASA TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention (2) Descriptionof Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and1.98

The disclosure and prior art relates to pillow devices and moreparticularly pertains to a new pillow device for adjusting firmness of apillow.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above bygenerally comprising a pillow for sleeping that is substantially hollow.A bladder is removably positioned within the pillow. The bladder isselectively inflated thereby facilitating the pillow to have a selecteddegree of firmness. A pump is fluidly coupled to the bladder and thepump is selectively manipulated. The pump selectively inflates anddeflates the bladder.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the disclosure in order that the detailed descriptionthereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that thepresent contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There areadditional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafterand which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features ofnovelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than thoseset forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to thefollowing detailed description thereof. Such description makes referenceto the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a phantom perspective view of an inflatable pillow assemblyaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a right side phantom view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line of FIG. 1 of anembodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through5 thereof, a new pillow device embodying the principles and concepts ofan embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by thereference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the inflatable pillow assembly10 generally comprises a pillow 12 for sleeping. The pillow 12 issubstantially hollow and the pillow 12 has a first end 14 and a secondend 16. The pillow 12 has an aperture 18 extending through the first 14and second 16 ends. The pillow 12 may be comprised of a resilientlycompressible material to enhance comfort when sleeping.

A bladder 20 is provided and the bladder 20 is removably positionedwithin the pillow 12. The bladder 20 is selectively inflated therebyfacilitating the pillow 12 to have a selected degree of firmness. Inthis way the pillow 12 may satisfy comfort needs for a variety of users.The bladder 20 has a plurality of chambers 22 therein and the chambers22 are in fluid communication with each other. The bladder 20 isremovably positioned within the aperture 18.

A pump 24 is fluidly coupled to the bladder 20 and the pump 24 isselectively manipulated. The pump 24 selectively inflates the bladder 20and the pump 24 selectively deflates the bladder 20. The pump 24comprises a hose 26 that is fluidly coupled to and extends away from thebladder 20. The hose 26 has a distal end 28 with respect to the bladder20.

A bulb 30 is fluidly coupled to the distal end 28 of the hose 26 and thebulb 30 is selectively manipulated. The bulb 30 urges air through thehose 26 to inflate the bladder 20 when the bulb 30 is compressed.Moreover, the bulb 30 may be comprised of a deformable material such asrubber or the like. A valve 32 is fluidly coupled to the bulb 30 and thevalve 32 is selectively manipulated. The valve 32 is positioned in afirst position to pass air from the bulb 30 into the bladder 20 forinflating the bladder 20. The valve 32 is positioned in a secondposition to release air from the bladder 20 for deflating the bladder20. The valve 32 may be a push button air valve or the like.

A pillowcase 34 is provided and the pillow 12 is removably positioned inthe pillowcase 34. The pillowcase 34 has a first end 36 and the firstend 36 has a cut 38 extending into an interior of the pillowcase 34 forreceiving the pillow 12. The cut 38 has a first bounding edge 40 and asecond bounding edge 42.

A closure 44 is coupled to the pillowcase 34 and the closure 44 isselectively manipulated. The closure 44 is aligned with the cut 38 andthe closure 44 selectively opens and closes the cut 38. The closure 44is coupled to each of the first 40 and second 42 bounding edges of thecut 38. Thus, the first 40 and second 42 bounding edges are joinedtogether when the closure 44 is closed. The closure 44 may comprise apair of zippers or the like.

In use, the bladder 20 is positioned in the pillow 12 and the pillow 12is positioned in the pillowcase 34. The hose 26 is extended through thecut 38 in the pillowcase 34 and the closure 44 is manipulated to closethe pillowcase 34. The bulb 30 is selectively compressed to inflate thebladder 20 to a selected degree. In this way the bladder 20 facilitatesthe pillow 12 to have a selected degree of firmness. Thus, the pillow 12and the bladder 20 enhance a comfort for sleeping for a variety ofusers. The valve 32 is selectively manipulated to deflate the bladder20.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodimentenabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials,shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, aredeemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and allequivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings anddescribed in the specification are intended to be encompassed by anembodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of thedisclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used inits non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word areincluded, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. Areference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not excludethe possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless thecontext clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.

I claim:
 1. An inflatable pillow assembly being configured to beselectively inflated for supporting a head during sleep, said assemblycomprising: a pillow being configured to be slept upon, said pillowbeing substantially hollow; a bladder being removably positioned withinsaid pillow, said bladder being selectively inflated wherein said pillowis configured to have a selected degree of firmness; and a pump beingfluidly coupled to said bladder wherein said pump is configured to bemanipulated, said pump selectively inflating said bladder, said pumpselectively deflating said bladder.
 2. The assembly according to claim1, wherein said pillow has a first end and a second end, said pillowhaving an aperture extending through said first and second ends.
 3. Theassembly according to claim 2, wherein said bladder has a plurality ofchambers therein, said plurality of chambers being in fluidcommunication with each other, said bladder being positioned within saidaperture.
 4. The assembly according to claim 3, wherein said pumpcomprises a hose being fluidly coupled to and extending away from saidbladder, said hose having a distal end with respect to said bladder. 5.The assembly according to claim 4, further comprising a bulb beingfluidly coupled to said distal end of said hose wherein said bulb isconfigured to be manipulated, said bulb urging air through said hose toinflate said bladder when said bulb is compressed.
 6. The assemblyaccording to claim 5, further comprising a valve being fluidly coupledto said bulb wherein said valve is configured to be manipulated, saidvalve being positioned in a first position wherein said valve isconfigured to pass air from said bulb into said bladder for inflatingsaid bladder, said valve being positioned in a second position whereinsaid valve is configured to release air from said bladder for deflatingsaid bladder.
 7. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising apillowcase having said pillow being removably positioned therein, saidpillowcase having a first end, said first and having it cut thereinextending into an interior of said pillowcase for receiving said pillow,said cut having a first bounding edge and a second bounding edge.
 8. Theassembly according to claim 7, further comprising a closure beingcoupled to said pillowcase wherein said closure is configured to bemanipulated said closure being aligned with said cut such that saidclosure selectively opens and closes said cut, said closure beingcoupled to each of said first and second bounding edges of said cut suchthat said first and second bounding edges are joined together when saidclosure is closed.
 9. An inflatable pillow assembly being configured tobe selectively inflated for supporting a head during sleep, saidassembly comprising: a pillow being configured to be slept upon, saidpillow being substantially hollow, said pillow having a first end and asecond end, said pillow having an aperture extending through said firstand second ends; a bladder being removably positioned within saidpillow, said bladder being selectively inflated wherein said pillow isconfigured to have a selected degree of firmness, said bladder having aplurality of chambers therein, said plurality of chambers being in fluidcommunication with each other, said bladder being positioned within saidaperture; a pump being fluidly coupled to said bladder wherein said pumpis configured to be manipulated, said pump selectively inflating saidbladder, said pump selectively deflating said bladder, said pumpcomprising: a hose being fluidly coupled to and extending away from saidbladder, said hose having a distal end with respect to said bladder, abulb being fluidly coupled to said distal end of said hose wherein saidbulb is configured to be manipulated, said bulb urging air through saidhose to inflate said bladder when said bulb is compressed, and a valvebeing fluidly coupled to said bulb wherein said valve is configured tobe manipulated, said valve being positioned in a first position whereinsaid valve is configured to pass air from said bulb into said bladderfor inflating said bladder, said valve being positioned in a secondposition wherein said valve is configured to release air from saidbladder for deflating said bladder; a pillowcase having said pillowbeing removably positioned therein, said pillowcase having a first end,said first and having it cut therein extending into an interior of saidpillowcase for receiving said pillow, said cut having a first boundingedge and a second bounding edge; and a closure being coupled to saidpillowcase wherein said closure is configured to be manipulated saidclosure being aligned with said cut such that said closure selectivelyopens and closes said cut, said closure being coupled to each of saidfirst and second bounding edges of said cut such that said first andsecond bounding edges are joined together when said closure is closed.